A Thunderous Silence
by Element Guardian
Summary: I have lost my ability to speak, been attacked by Death Eaters, lost some of my best friends, and might never get to kiss the man of my choice again. But I will still fight.
1. Prologue

**A Thunderous Silence**

**Prologue**

Severus Snape moved in between myself and Lucius Malfoy. I cringed at every attack that went out and mentally sighed when Severus deflected an attack that Malfoy sent out.

Sitting there, practically right in the middle of a deadly duel, I wondered how I had gotten there.

Oh yeah, I had flicked Malfoy off and he decided to attack me.

Malfoy and I had always been enemies since the day we met on the train to Hogwarts. I had been sitting in the same car as Severus since it was the only quiet car on the whole train. We were both enjoying a good book. Malfoy came in and started to belittle us both.

I don't have any siblings, but I saw my cousins enough while growing up that we acted like siblings. Any unkind thing that is said to me usually just flies right over my head. From what I knew about him, Severus had neither sibling nor cousin.

I was thankful when I learned that Malfoy was in Slytherin while I was sorted into Gryffindor. I felt sorry for Severus, he too was a Slytherin.

Spending most of my free time with the friends I made, I rarely spoke to Severus outside of class. Allow me to correct myself; he rarely spoke to me outside of class. Not only was Severus Malfoy's favorite person to torture, Severus also was put down by the Marauders. I never missed a beat when I stood up for Severus.

More than once Sirius Black accused me of having a soft spot for Severus. I never denied it.

After I was done agreeing with Sirius about my soft spot for Severus, my fellow Gryffindors would enjoy teasing me for some time, but like I said, most things just fly over my head. Besides, if somebody pushed it too far, I could easily poison them with a potion or hex them without leaving a mark.

I excelled at potions and the Dark Arts. My only rival was Severus.

Seven years went by like that in the castle. On my last day there, I risked stealing a kiss from Severus.

When I say risk, I don't mean to say that I was ashamed about someone seeing I kissed him, McGonagall caught us. What I mean when I say risk is that neither of us had gotten into a relationship while at Hogwarts. I wasn't sure if there was a reason for that for Severus. The kiss was a risk because I was afraid that he would push me away.

He didn't

I told Severus how to contact me if he ever needed help, but I knew he wouldn't. Still, a girl can dream.

That was the last time I saw him for years. Next time I saw him, he wore a Death Eaters robe and was assisting with the Cruciatus Curse that the Death Eaters were performing on me.

That had to be the biggest turning point in my life. 

"Severus" I yelled as he fell to the ground. He turned midair so I could see him smile at me.

I rushed forward and grabbed his wand and blasted Malfoy away without saying a word.

Suddenly, I realized that my silence in life had been leading up to this one moment when I would yell Severus's name and rush to his side as his body crumpled to the ground. I also realized how much I missed being able to say something with such emotion.

Perhaps you need more of an explanation.


	2. My Turning Point

**A Thunderous Silence**

**Chapter One**

**My Turning Point**

To introduce myself properly, I'm Alexis Lexington. I was born to a well known pure blood wizarding family. My father didn't like being in the center of everything with our world, so we spent a lot of time in their world, the muggle's world.

While I was at school, I was chatty and happy. Of course that all changed at my turning point.

One of my aunts liked to talk about how people had different times in their lives that changed them completely. For a long time, the only turning points I could say I had was when my oldest cousin took me hiking and purposefully left me in the woods and attending Hogwarts.

During the last year or so of You-Know-Who, who I simply called YKW, I was walking the muggle streets alone. Like my father, I liked being separate from the wizarding world. It was dark and cold and Death Eaters attacked me.

I guess they thought I was some muggle girl that they could use if they scared me enough, what they didn't expect was for me to pull out my wand.

Before any of them could attack, I shouted "_Reavelo_"

Reavelo was a spell that caused anyone who was trying to hide his or her identity to be revealed. It was a spell one of my older cousin had been creating and recently perfected.

I recognized everyone of the Death Eaters.

Malfoy was the leader. The rest of the group was almost entirely Slytherins with a couple of Hufflepuffs and one Ravenclaw. There were no Gryffindors. I was going to bring that news back to McGonagall.

Before I could celebrate, I saw Severus. He looked honestly surprised that it was me they were attacking.

Someone silently attacked me and I was forced to defend myself. When I had a chance to stop and think, I held up my wand and yelled, "_Findmefreeme_"

A second spell my cousin had created and would bring any of my relatives who were in a five mile radius.

"_Crucio_!"

There is no greater pain than what that curse can dish out to you. I felt my body wither and move in ways it shouldn't. I was lying on the ground so that I could see Severus. He looked confused.

I heard shouting and the curse was lifted. All the other Death Eaters, but Severus ran. He knelt down by me and cupped my cheek with his hand.

"Why Severus?" I whispered.

He pulled his hand away and ran like the others and I felt others surround me.

"Don't move her," a female voice snapped. "We'll put her in more pain."

"It's okay my Precious, you're safe now," my father whispered. Then the female voice belonged to one of my aunts or cousins.

My favorite cousin, Nick, lay down on his stomach so that he was eyelevel with me. "What happened? Can you tell us what curse or hex they used on you?"

It's at this point that I blacked out, but my family claims I never actually lost consciousness. They say that I nodded and then opened my mouth to speak but nothing came out. Everyone held their breath incase I was talking in a whisper, but I never answered. Nick told me, after I had recovered, that I had just stared right through him, like he wasn't there.

"_Why Severus?_" Those would be the last words I would speak for a very long time. Much longer than I care to admit to myself, so I won't to you.


	3. St Mungo's

**A Thunderous Silence**

**Chapter 2**

**St. Mungo's**

St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries became my home for awhile.

The healers first had to help my body recover from the Cruciatus Curse. They told me that I was extremely lucky I was young and fit. Being a Keeper for the Gryffindor's quidditch team had finally done something for me besides give me a slight limp in my left leg.

The physical work was the easiest. It was psychologically that the healers were worried about me.

I still hadn't talked to anyone and tended to use my face and body to express how I was feeling.

After several weeks of treatments, the healers finally began to allow visitors to come. My father and most of my family on his side made an attempt to come and see me every day. They brought work with them, trying to get me involved enough so that I would talk.

Dumbledore came every Thursday at three o'clock in the afternoon. He talked to me as if I was still talking. Dumbledore was one of the first to pick up what different things about my body language meant.

McGonagall came every Sunday at five o'clock in the evening. She complained about some students and talked fondly about others. I was kept up about the quidditch status at Hogwarts and was sad to learn that Gryffindor wasn't doing very well. McGonagall also brought me books to read for the time I had in between visitors.

An old school friend of mine, Remus Lupin came when he could. He brought me news of what was really going on outside St. Mungo's. It was from him I heard that Severus was back on our side, that Sirius was imprisoned in Azkaban, and that James and Lily Potter were dead.

My mother also tried to visit, but I physically threw her out of my room. I had not spoken to my mother since I started Hogwarts.

When I was younger, my parents divorced. It was more like my mother leaving my father for another man. Right before I started Hogwarts, she attempted to have me placed in another magical school, but no one would take her seriously and so I went to Hogwarts as originally planed.

No one from my mother's family even owled me to ask how I was doing. To be honest, I didn't expect any of them to.

Soon after I started receiving visitors, I was given back my wand and I could use it as I pleased. I mainly used it to kick out healers I did not like and amuse some of the other patients.

I made friends easily with a lot of people. There was this one young couple that had been Aurors. They were attacked by the Cruciatus Curse as well. Unlike me, they showed no signs of recovering. I felt bad that the Longbottoms would never wake up, because they had a really sweet little boy that would come and visit often with his grandmother.

One night, Nick caught me praying. On a scrap of paper, I wrote: "I'm asking God to give my recovery to the Longbottoms so that they can be with their son."

The healers kept a closer eye on me after that.

One Thursday that Dumbledore was visiting, he mentioned about bringing Severus for a visit. I spent Dumbledore's next visit avoiding him and Severus. When someone came close to finding me, I would use my wand and escape them once again.

That was when St. Mungo's declared that I could go home, if I lived with a relative, since I seemed to be in my right mind. They were sick of my sass. St. Mungo's also said that if I was ever going to talk again, it would not happen there.

I was given a test to see how badly I was affected psychologically. The test said I had a fear of the dark, of forests, I was no longer as trusting as I used to be, and that my personality was going to be affected greatly.

"Everything is predictable, except the forest part," the Head Healer said. "Any clue what that fear came from?"

"Yes." My father, uncles, aunts, and cousins said in perfect unison and harmony. The only one who did not speak was my oldest cousin who had been the one to leave in the forest. I nodded vigorously.

"Where?"

We all pointed to my oldest cousin. He blushed and shrugged slightly. "I might have accidentally lost her in the woods at one point."

"Just like you are accidentally lying right now?" his sister asked him.

The healer shook his head and seemed to be second guessing his decision on sending me home with my family.

Right before I left, I caught a glimpse of the Longbottom boy and his grandmother. I broke away from my family and rushed to give the boy one last hug. I had no way of knowing that this would not be my last encounter with Neville Longbottom. In fact my time here at St. Mungo's with him was only preparing me for my next big turning point.


	4. Life Goes On

**A Thunderous Silence**

**Chapter Three**

**Life Goes On**

I ended up living with my older cousin Cynthia and my younger cousin Julia. Cynthia was a writer for both the muggle and wizarding worlds. Julia worked for the Ministry of Magic.

I love Cynthia and Julia, but they were to girlie for me. I spent most of time with Nick or the cousin that left me in the forest, Greg.

Greg played for the national hockey team, and pretty soon I began to think of some of his teammates as more cousins. None of them knew me before I lost my voice, so they just accepted the fact that I wasn't going to speak.

"Okay Lexie, get it past me," one player by the name of Seth said. I smirked and easily maneuvered my self and the puck around Seth and took the shot at the open goal. I did a victory lap around Seth.

"Man girl, did you play hockey in school?"

I shook my head and gave him, I'm not going to tell you what I know look. Hockey wasn't Quiditch, but it was still fun.

For a long while I tossed the idea around of dating Seth. I spent my days playing hockey with him and most of my nights hanging out at the bar that Nick worked at with Seth.

The nights I didn't go to the bar, I sat up thinking what would have happened if I had just visited with Severus. Would he have apologized? Would he have said nothing? Would I have leaned forward and kissed him and taken the risk all over again?

"You want to dance?" Seth asked over the music.

I shook my head no. It had been years since the attack.

Nick handed me my favorite drink. "Everything okay Lexie?"

I shook my head again.

Thankfully, Greg and the rest of the team crowed around us. They wore their team's colors and symbols and looked to be in good spirits. Greg got up onto the bar and yelled for everyone's attention. "Everyone please, I have an announcement. We have just learned that the Lashwhip hockey team is going to the World Series."

The bar erupted into cheers of happy fans. I banged my glass against the counter. Seth had an arm around my shoulder and kissed my cheek. That's when I knew that Seth and I would never last in a relationship as anything other than friends.

For one of my birthdays, my father got me an acoustic guitar. I took it to be decorated. Kevin, another teammate of Greg's, was also a talented artist.

For me he designed a red lioness who sat up proud and elegant. Next to her laid a lion. He was black and in green there was a snake on his left front paw. The male lion was not simply resting, he was waiting to pounce. Somehow it reminded me of Severus, even if technically he was supposed to be a snake of some sort.

Not only did I have the two lions painted onto my guitar, I also had it tattooed onto the small of my back. My father was far from pleased about that decision.

"Come on Lex," Seth begged. "The concert should be fun."

I snorted and continued with the cooking. Truthfully, I never had any intention to send him to the concert alone or with some crazed fan. I derive much joy from watching him squirm.

"Please, I'm begging you," Seth said as he got down on his hands and knees.

Patting his head I started to dice some peppers.

Seth jumped to his feet and picked me in a bear hug. "Thank you, thank you."

The concert was fun. The entire hockey team was there and many of them had brought girlfriends along with them. I knew most of the girls and most of them knew me. Only one was a mystery to me, and she made me uneasy.

"What fun," Nick said. Greg, who had a problem with relationships, had brought his cousin unlike all the other boys.

Smiling, I threw my arms around Nick. I wish I could have laughed at that point, but along with losing my ability to speak, I lost the ability to laugh.

Since it was so late, Greg and Nick crashed at mine, Cynthia's, and Julia's house. That was a big mistake, because HE could find us quicker.

HE was Dumbledore, and he has officially gone off the rocker.

After falling asleep around two in the morning, I did not plan to wake until past noon. However, around nine, Cynthia was shaking me awake.

"Professor Dumbledore is here to see you," Cynthia said. I pulled the covers closer around me. "Get up now!"

I obeyed as I listened to Cynthia arousing Nick. I put on a button down, white blouse and a pair of black pants and fixed the makeup I had put on last night.

"Lexie," Dumbledore said happily. "Wonderful to see you all again."

I hugged the old man and we sat down and began to talk. But Dumbledore wasn't here just to chat.

Dumbledore had to watch me carefully. If one wasn't careful, they could completely miss what I'm trying to communicate to them. After many years of continuous silence, I had become a master at displaying my feelings.

Only my family and closest friends could carry on entire conversations with me. Students at Hogwarts could not.

"I need you at Hogwarts," Dumbledore pleaded. "Of course you won't be teaching the lessons alone."

I raised one eyebrow and crossed my arms. Most people read that as "That's besides the point."

"With Voldermort around, I want students to know how to fight," Dumbledore said. He had begun to get under my skin. It was only because I knew how to defend myself that I could still talk to Dumbledore today, well kind of. "Harry Potter is there."

I magiced a knife to fly out the kitchen. After dealing with James Potter my entire school career did not leave me jumping for joy to teach his son.

"Severus is teaching Potions. Are you still sore with him?"

The knife flew ever closer to Dumbledore's head. And he wanted to know if I was still sore about Severus.

"Neville Longbottom is at my school."

Finally the knife came to rest in my hand. I remembered the awkward little boy who would go and visit his parents. But I doubt he would remember me after all this time.

I shook my head.

"You can't hide forever Lexie," Dumbledore said. "The wizarding world, and Voldermort, is still there. Don't you want to help some kids who really need it?"

I picked up a pad of paper that I would write on sometimes when expressions were not enough.

I will not be forced to wear robes all the time

You do not force me into contact with Severus

You do not expect me to talk

You promise me that there are no students like James and his friends

I get the chance to return home and see my family

I meet the person I will be working with

Dumbledore read my list and smiled. "My dear, you are no longer a student and not required to dress in a uniform. I would never try to force you and Severus together, but you will have to see him. Lexie, lets be realistic, you haven't spoken in years. I can't promise number four, we have the Weasley twins who remind just about everyone of James and Sirius. You'll have plenty of time to see your family. In fact, Nick has agreed to teach the class with you."

I took back my pad of paper and wrote two big letters on it. **NO! **

Nick, the man who I sometimes call my favorite cousin, stumbled into the room his eyes closed, obliviously still asleep

"I can't work with Nick, I'll kill him or commit suicide," I scribbled on the pad of paper.

"Work with me?" Nick questioned. He had read my note to Dumbledore.

Dumbledore sighed. "I want the two of you to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts."

"Old man, I'm not suicidal."

I gave Dumbledore my "I'm not insane" look and let the knife fly out of my hands.

During the years that had gone by, I had managed to work hard enough so that I did not always need a wand. However, I wouldn't imagine going into a fight without my wand. Like I said, I'm not insane.

"No means no, Dumbledore," Nick declared. I nodded in agreement.

I felt like I won this argument and I would not be forced back to Hogwarts. But still, that twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes and that all knowing smile of his should have told me otherwise.

Somehow Dumbledore did it. He managed to convince both Nick and myself to teach the Defense Against the Dark Arts class.

He got us to the school a few weeks before the semester started in order to meet everyone else. Not like I needed to be introduced to people I already knew.

When the introductions were made, I stood behind my cousin.

"Hello Nicolas," McGonagall greeted Nick. "I'm glad to see you among us again, Alexis."

I nodded.

Hagrid stormed into the room and took both Nick and me up in a big hug. I had forgotten the gamekeeper and how kind he was to everyone. "It's wonderful ter see ya both again," he sniveled.

I patted his shoulder gently.

That's how it went. I would see a familiar face and I would give my own greeting. No one made any comment about how I couldn't speak, and I had a sickening feeling house points would be deducted from all sides if the students began to talk about my weakness.

However, among all the faces, I did not see Severus' and I almost regretted not being able to face him now, before the term started and we were surrounded by students.

Oh yeah, I had forgotten about the students. I was here to teach.

Somehow, someway McGonagall convinced me to wear robes. She all but dragged me to Hogsmead to have some to wear. Most of them were black and scarlet.

The first day of the term came much quicker than expected, but my first day was easy enough. I was just to sit and watch the first years sorted into which house was most suitable for them.

Dumbledore stood and I decided it was the perfect time to bolt. Nick grabbed my left arm while McGonagall grabbed my right. Severus eyed me from the other end of the table but did not give any sign of any sort.

"Welcome everyone to Hogwarts. This year, we have yet more new teachers for you to meet and learn from," Dumbledore said merrily.

The students groaned in unison. If it hadn't been that long ago that I myself had attended the school, I would have sworn the students got together and practice that.

"They will be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts together," Dumbledore continued. Some of the student's ears perked up in interest, I could see it even from the teacher's table. Never, in the history of Hogwarts, had there been two teachers teaching the same class together. "Please welcome your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers: Professor Nicolas Fairswether and Professor Alexis Lexington."

Nick stood up when his name was called and dragged me up when mine was called. The students eyed us, and sized us up. I looked at Nick from the corner of my eye and saw that he was smiling, but there was a smirk in his eyes that told me that any student who thought we were pushovers were sadly mistaken.

I turned back to the students. No smile graced my face and my eyes stared at each school house in turn. These brats weren't even going to dream of trying to push me over, or they would find themselves in a few uncomfortable positions.

Suddenly I saw a simple hex flying towards me. Several of the teachers stood to seek out the person who had attempted to attack me.

Smiling cruelly, I waved my hand. The hex made a U turn and went flying towards the person who originally attacked me. It was a seventh year Slytherin.

"I am Professor Fairsweather and this is Professor Lexington. If you think you children can out smart us or out duel us, we welcome the challenge. To be fair, however, both of us are qualified to become aurors and both of us have gone into extremely deadly duels before. None of you stand a chance," Nick said before sitting down again.

I followed suit as I watched Severus and McGonagall lead the seventh year out of the Great Hall.

The students were talking amongst themselves, and I knew why.


	5. First Day Impressions

**A Thunderous Silence**

**Chapter Four**

**First Day Impressions**

"Lexie, please hurry, I want breakfast," I heard my cousin groan from the other side of the door. He had dropped the mean, uncaring, adult act the minute we were out of sight of the students.

I knocked on the door twice and went back to taming my hair, which was and still is untamable. My scarlet robes swirled around my ankles and legs moving with my body. At that moment, I almost made a sound with my voice for I wanted to screech my displeasure as my dirt blonde hair escaped me again.

Nick jumped back in surprise I as pulled the door open and stormed towards the Great Hall, my hair swaying around my face.

"She hasn't changed at all," McGonagall laughed happily as I took my place at the teacher's table.

Dumbledore smiled and patted my shoulder. "If anything, she's even worse than how she used to be."

It took a second, but slowly I remembered what they were laughing about. They were laughing about the countless times I had stormed into the Great Hall with one of the Maroaudor or one of my male cousins at my heals, unsure how to react to the delicate situation. For once someone was saying I was the same as I always was.

"Good morning," I hear a silky voice whisper. It was Severus.

"Good Morning, Sev," My idiot cousin said as he finally caught up with me.

Severus took a moment to glare at Nick before turning to me. "Professor Lexington, I would like to know how you would care for the boy to be punished?"

His voice was the smoothest I had ever heard it. The last time, on that night I had been attacked, his voice had been panicked and he almost croaked. I knew that he was covering up what he really wanted to say and how he really wanted it to sound.

Over the years that silence had reigned over me, I had actually learned what different tones of voices meant for different people. Like Seth, when he wanted something he almost sounded childish, but right before a game his voice deepened and grew in volume so he had a battle voice that anyone warrior would envy.

"Why are you being so formal with Lexie, Severus?" McGonagall asked slyly. "I have been expecting an invitation to yours and Lexie's wedding for years by now."

I chocked on my orange juice.

Behind his dark eyes, I saw Severus thinking things I was probably best to just leave alone for my own sanity.

"Why would you say something like that?" Nick asked. I shoved a piece of toast in his hand and grabbed him by the collar of his robes and dragged him out of the Great Hall. He waved the toast at our colleagues. "See everyone at lunch."

Laugher and the exchanging of memories followed us out of the room. I was so preoccupied with the conversation that had gone on, I nearly ran over three students.

"You really need to watch where you are dragging me," I heard Nick said as he pulled me up by my elbow. "Sorry you three, my cousin has a slight ego problem. Well look at that, it's James's boy, man you look like your dad. And a Weasley too! Are you one of the twins Dumbledore warned us about?"

"Nope those are my brothers, Fred and George. I'm Ron," the red head said.

"Hermione Granger," the girl with the two boys said happily.

"Heard about you from Dumbledore too, said nothing but good things about you," Nick said flirtatiously. While Hermione blushed, I paled and slapped Nick's head. I then resumed dragging him towards our classroom.

Nick rubbed his neck. "What was that all about?"

I turned on him and punched him square in the jaw.

"You've been spending way to much time with Greg."

The first class we had that day included Harry, Ron, and Hermione, all of whom were still in shock from their first encounter with us. There was also a platinum blonde hair boy with the last name Malfoy attached to his first name.

"This can't be right!" roared Nick and went to go find Dumbledore.

I took out a piece of parchment and scribbled something about drowning Nick in the Lake that night when everyone else was a sleep.

The door slammed open and the students began to enter and took their seats. For a second I panicked. When I was younger I was loud enough to make people to listen to me, but how to communicate to these little monsters.

Snapping my fingers, what I wanted to say was written in the air. "As you already know I am Professor Lexington and the idiot who just left is my cousin, Professor Fairsweather. Now I'm sure you are curious why there are two teachers this year teaching the dark arts, when you were all still quit young, I was attacked by Death Eaters, and have yet to regained the ability to speak."

"Well we have a mute and an idiot," Malfoy said. "Dumbledore should just given Professor Snape the position."

This was going to be fun. I waved my hands and it hit one of the four time turners in the back of the classroom. It turned around counterclockwise ten times.

"I have just taken ten points from Slytherin, and I assure you I have no regret Malfoy. When I post your name, please stand…" I wrote. As I put up each different name, a different kid rose. At some point Nick returned and sat behind the desk sulking.

After I had every named paired with a face, I started the first lesson, for myself. I wanted to see how smart these kids were.

"Where do you think the dark arts came from?" I wrote in the air.

Hermione raised an eager hand and I nodded. "The dark arts original started in the Middle Ages during the time of the black plague."

"Professor Lexington is looking more for why they started and not when. And they didn't start during the black plagues, they've been around for a lot longer than that," Nick said rubbing his eyes.

To my surprise the class erupted into chaos and they started to jeer and laugh at Hermione.

"Not so perfect, are you Mudblood?" Malfoy yelled over the noise.

I snapped. With a wave of my hand Malfoy was flown up into the wall and hit it hard. He looked honestly scared.

"Put him down Lexie," Nick whispered into my ear. I did and Nick pounced on Malfoy the minute his feet were on the ground. "If I ever hear that language in my classroom again Malfoy, I'll have you expelled. For right now that's another hundred and forty points from Slytherin and a detention for you. Now how about you answer the question?"

Malfoy was too scared to answer the question.

"The dark arts began so wizards could protect themselves from creatures like banshees," I heard poor Hermione whisper, unsure of herself.

I took a piece of paper from my desk and scribbled down a quick note and handed it to Hermione. "Well done. Ten points for answering the question and another thirty for putting up with that abuse. I would like you to stay after so I can talk with you."

Together Nick and I managed to get the students to think about the theories and ideas surrounding the dark arts. One student asked how come the dark arts were so broad when obviously they were more defined subjects with in it.

"Well, some places do break it up a little more than we do here at Hogwarts," Nick said with a warm smile. "Professor Lexington and I know several people who went to America to continue their studies into magic. They owled us and said that the University they were at had no Defense Against the Dark Arts, but actually several classes that focused on one aspect of the dark arts."

The bell rang and the students left for their next class. As I had asked her to, Hermione stayed behind. I waved Nick out of the room and he kindly obeyed.

"_Sit down Hermione. No need for you to stand."_

"What…How…?" the confused girl jumped in surprise.

"_It's me Hermione. I'm a skilled Legimacy. What I want to know is if you are going to be okay?"_

"Yes."

"_I one time stepped in between two Slytherins, one of whom was my friend. When I asked if he was okay, he said yes. I later caught him ready to jump off the Astronomy tower."_

"Was he okay?"

"_That boy I stopped from jumping became your Potions Master."_

"Professor Snape?" Hermione squeaked.

"_Promise me you'll come and talk if it comes to that, I know how easily pride is bruised," _I said to the girl. _"And Hermione, one more thing, please do not inform Professor Snape that we had this conversation."_


	6. Routines

Author's note: Oh the stories I revisit….but five years later here it is! I'll try to have it wrapped up soon instead of taking another five years to write the next chapter.

**A Thunderous Silence**

**Chapter Six**

**Routines**

For Nick and myself, our new routines at Hogwarts became set very quickly. We would bustle into the Great Hall for breakfast, late more often then not, fighting about something. Then our morning classes for the Defense Against the Dark Arts would occur. They were usually the younger kids, and we both feared for our lives during those short hours. Young wizards and witches have the ability to cause plenty of damage when they are not concentrating. And while it shouldn't have really surprised me, the numbers of students not concentrating was high.

Then it was lunchtime. During that hour, many of the teachers were half asleep weary from their first round of classes. Then it was another round of classes before we helped monitored a study hall. The job usually rested on Nick, Severus, and myself. The three of us being the youngest teachers meant that we took the boring jobs. Soon the students were dismissed and had some free time till dinner.

Dinner was usually a trial, but I firmly believe I had earned my place in heaven for not turning McGonagall into something that lacked a mouth, and lacked the desire to marry everyone in front of her. She was a clever old witch. She would have Hagrid distract Nick with whatever new creature the half-giant had hidden in his cabin. Then she would pounce, and usually with Dumbledore.

"So how have things been between you and Severus?" McGonagall would ask me I as I was taking a bite out of my food. I would begin to choke and Flitwick would whack at my back until I stopped coughing. "It is a perfectly acceptable question."

"Yes, are two still sore with one another?" Dumbledore asked.

I leaned over the table to see if I could flag down Nick to come and help me. He and Hagrid would be very deep in conversation about anything that went bump in the night.

At this point Severus Snape would arrive in the Great Hall. He would inform us which student he had been punishing for which reason as he filled his plate. He purposely kept Flitwick and myself in between himself and McGonagall. I would lean over and glare at him. He would shrug.

"You two should really patch things up," Dumbledore said.

It was at those moments when I thought that perhaps Dumbledore just want things to go back to the way they were before the war. And that included Severus and I being friends again.

"Albus, it has been so long since we had teachers married," McGonagall sighed. "Soon we might have young children in the castle again."

As if the word 'children' triggered a switch in side of me, I felt the color drain from my face and the life drained from my body. Nick would then look over and cringe. "What are you talking about?"

"Just imaging what life would be like if we had young ones in the castle," McGonagall would sigh happily.

"Small children frighten Lexi," Nick said before returning to his conversation with Hagrid.

"Small children scare you?" Severus would ask me.

I waved my hand as if to say, "Don't ask."

It didn't take long for the students to get used to me. The first few weeks were a drain on points for all four houses, particularly the Slytherin house. However, the students began to understand how to 'talk' to me so to speak. By the time we left for winter break, we would be able to communicate all of the time.

So at meal times, when the students couldn't hear what the teachers were saying they tried to use me for clues as to what was going on. We, the teachers, could hear the gossip mills running from our table.

"Oh dear," Flitwick squeaked from in between Severus and I. He had apparently always been worried about the student rumor mills.

Neither of us paid much attention as the dinner food faded away and desserts popped up. Both of us would reach for the same dessert, without fail, each night. I think as the weeks went on we purposely tried to pick different dessert each week. Each week our hands would brush, we stare at each other, and then we would withdraw our hands.

Flitwick, to give him credit, never pressured us. He simply chuckled as he retrieved the dessert that Severus and I had both abandoned.

Then Nick and I would walk back to our set of rooms. He would tell me all the things he had talked about at dinner. Typically it involved animals that went ka-boom.

We would make it to our rooms in one piece. Our rooms were located in between the Slytherin chambers and the Ravenclaw chambers. The doors opened into a multifunction room. There were several overstuffed armchairs placed in a semi circle around the fireplace. There were also two desks in the far side of the room. Nick and I had put up posters from Greg's hockey team, to continue supporting them from a far. On either side of the room, there was a door. One led to his room and one led to mine. Nick would go into his room, and I into mine.

I'm not sure what Nick's room looked like, but mine had a large bed full of pillows. I had the usual enchanted furniture and even some normal. I wasn't too concerned about making the room feel like a home. If the tradition held, I wouldn't be here in the next year.

Around midnight, I would begin to crave something sweet. I would sneak out of my room and to the kitchen. I would see Severus already there. We would stand next to ach other and eat our desserts quietly. The house elves would bustle about us quickly and quietly.

Each night I would try to find the strength inside of me to reach out to him.

Each night he left before I could.

This would how my days would go. I personally enjoyed it. Nick on the other hand was not as easy to settle down. He left the castle and his teaching duties whenever he could. By Halloween, I had taught several lessons on my own.

It was a couple nights before Halloween, when everything changed. Severus hadn't met me in the kitchen for our ritual dessert. I decided to not wait.

As I exited the portrait that led to the kitchen, the shadows reached up and grabbed me. Somehow understanding that it was Severus, I let him pull me into his shadows.

Each hand griped one of my arms. It told me he was sorry he had let me go. He used the wall and his own body, unconsciously shielding me from any dangers. It told me he was sorry that he had hurt me, and he would protect me from now on. His head was bowed, his eyes avoiding mine. It told me he was sorry, sorry for everything.

While that might not have been enough for you, it spoke volumes to me. I grabbed his face and kissed him. He kissed back. His arms moved around my body as he gently pushed me until I was up against the wall.

I had never felt anything so wonderful.

Suddenly we had heard a noise from down the hall. Severus quickly pulled away and went towards it. Assuming some students were going to be punished, I went back to my room.

The next morning I woke up in a rather good mood. Not even Nick telling me to stop primping in the mirror could upset me. So for once, we entered breakfast on time and not fighting. McGonagall, sure that something had happened, renewed her efforts.


	7. Understandings

AN: I have to say, I love writing this story. It is a challenge to have a character, the main character, to not be able to speak. I suggest you try it if you have the chance. Though I am cheating this chapter.

SlytherinLuv: Reread the first chapter.

**Thunderous Silence**

**Chapter 7**

**Understandings**

"So we're going home," Nick begged me as we came into the Great Hall for breakfast one Wednesday. I smiled and nodded and Nick broke out into a grin. The man truly hated teaching.

Halloween had come and gone, with out much incident. I think I should count myself lucky that nothing major happen since there had been a troll in the castle only a few years earlier. We were that point in the semester where everyone was counting down the days to the holiday break.

We walked in between the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables. Nick immediately got pulled in to a conversation with McGonagall for shirking his duties as a professor. I sat down next to Severus.

His eyes flicked over to mine and he nodded his greeting. I smiled and nodded mine in return.

"Stop it you two," Nick groaned as he escaped McGonagall and sat next to me. "It's bad enough that I have one person who doesn't talk. I don't need two."

"It might do you good to perhaps learn," Severus snapped at my cousin.

The two began to quarrel; I sat calmly in between the two. I reminisced about the earlier months of the semester where Nick was the calm one. Of course it wasn't going to last.

"So here's the end all be all mate," Nick concluded. "We're going home this weekend and we're going to drink with our friends and see our family. You're going to sit in your dungeon and drink by yourself."

My elbow nailed Nick in the rib cage with perfect precision. And just to make sure it bruised, I hit him there a second time.

I turned to Severus and smiled. I made my eyelashes flutter.

"Is this your way of inviting me?" Severus asked.

Nick said "no" while I nodded yes.

"Will I be a bother to you and your friends?" Severus asked.

Nick said "yes" while I shook my head no.

Severus looked me in the eyes and smiled. "I'd be glad to come."

After breakfast, Nick and I walked towards our classroom. I was surprised by his actions at breakfast. While he knew and liked the mauraders well enough, he had never felt the need to join in on their jokes. Nick and Severus had been rather civil, friendly almost, during their time at Hogwarts. And it wasn't like I had identified Severus as a Death Eater.

"I was a jerk today at breakfast," Nick said as he rubbed his bruising side.

My elbow gently nudged the bruise that I knew was forming.

Nick sighed and racked his hands through his hair. "I don't know what is about this place. I didn't like Hogwarts while I was here as a student and I don't like it now. Being a bartender was just so much more fun."

That's when I realized that I wasn't doing the favor for Dumbledore, he was doing one for me. He had given me some purpose to my life once more. Nick didn't need anyone to give his life purpose.

"I'll apologize to him at lunch," Nick muttered to himself.

As soon as we reached our classroom, the bell rang and students began to pour in. Our routine began with deducting ten points from Slytherin for foul language.

True to his word, Nick apologized at lunch. While the two weren't really friendly with each other at the moment, they weren't hostile either.

Dinner went on normally. Nick and Hagrid were deep in conversation, thinking that perhaps they could combine their lessons together somehow. McGonagall was talking about flower arrangement, thankfully not for a wedding, with Dumbledore. Flitwick was surprisingly missing. So that left Severus and myself to our own devices.

He had learned how to speak my language. We spoke silently to one another. As dinner disappeared from the table we both reached for the same desert. Our hands touched and we looked at each other before retracting our hands. We both smiled, knowingly.

After dinner, Nick and I walked back to our rooms. My cousin looked over at me. "What is going one between you and Severus."

I shrugged.

"Would you tell me if there was?" Nick pushed.

I grabbed his arm and looked him in the eye. It was an action I did often, particularly right after I had been released from St. Mungos. It was the way I asked if something was wrong.

Nick shook his head. "Everything is fine, I just want to know if something going on. We have to work with him, you know."

We reached our room. Nick had wrapped an arm around my shoulders and I had wrapped on around his waist. I was curious which one of us was comforting the other. Nick could tell I wasn't saying something to him. I knew he was upset about this knowledge.

I was careful to wait for Nick to go to sleep before I slipped out for my dessert with Severus. As I left my our rooms, I promised myself I would tell Severus as soon as I knew myself.

Severus was waiting for me in the kitchen. He had gotten us each a slice of chocolate cake. He handed me mine, and we stood side-by-side eating. We were quiet, not using words and not using movements.

After we had finished, Severus took me by the elbow and led me to his office. It was a cozy room. It was similar to mine, one end held a cauldron and a desk while the other had several arm chairs circling a fireplace. Severus lit a fire for us. He sat down in one of the armchairs, and gestured me to do the same.

We sat in silence until Severus asked. "What are we?"

I shrugged.

"I need more than just a shrug," Severus said calmly. I could feel the tension that he must have been feeling. "I need to know."

"_Why are you so worried about?"_ I asked him point blankly.

Severus looked shocked for a minute before shaking his head. "You would know legimacy."

"_I know it,"_ I admitted, _"but I don't like using it. Defeats the purpose of being silent."_

"And what propose would that be?" Severus asked coolly.

I shrugged. _"No clue."_

"But seriously, what are we?" Severus asked.

I shrugged again. _"Why label it?"_

"Why?" Severus sputtered. "Perhaps because McGonagall is pushing marriage down our throats. Or maybe because your cousin would not like us 'hooking up' on the side. Not to mention we are both teachers here and should set a good example of what a relationship it."

My body moved from the chair that I was sitting on the arm of the chair that Severus was sitting on. _"Those are all reasons why others want us to label what we are. Why do you want to label us? We have time to figure this out."_

"We do?" Severus asked. I slid on to his lap. "We do. I've just never been close to this."

"_Neither have I,"_ I admitted.

Severus buried his face into my shoulder. "I miss your voice."

I wrapped my arms around his neck and buried my face into his soft hair. The tears began running down my cheeks. I'm not sure when I began crying, all I knew is that we both were.


	8. Homecoming

AN: I feel like this was along one, but it covered a lot.

A Thunderous Silence

Chapter 8

Homecoming

Nick, Severus, and I walked into the home I shared with Cynthia and Julia. They were sitting at the table with Greg, who had a fresh black eye from last week's hockey game. We were later than expected; since we had to stop at a couple of shopping stores, since Nick was appalled that Severus didn't own a pair of jeans.

"Lexie!" Julia cried as she threw her arms around my neck. I smiled and hugged my cousin tightly. I had missed her and her girlie ways while I was at Hogwarts.

Julia moved on to greet Nick, while Greg picked me up in a bear of a hug. "We missed our lucky charm last night. It was barely a win."

"Severus, it's good to see you," Cynthia said, the first to acknowledge the dark man. "Next time warn us if you are planning on looking like wizards and witches, Seth and some of the others wanted to throw you a surprise party."

Severus and I were both still in our robes. We had let Nick do the shopping for us, and was the only one ready to associate with the muggle world.

"It's never a party without a few oblivian charms," Nick laughed.

"Who is Seth?" Severus asked, before receiving a hug from Julia. The man looked flustered and unsure of how to react.

"Seth is a muggle friend of mine from the hockey team," Greg responded, shaking Severus' hand. "You'll meet him and some of the others tonight."

"Hockey?" Severus asked questioningly.

Greg laughed. "It's kind of like Quiditch on ice, only better."

Severus looked even more confused.

Then it was time to get ready to go out. I'm ashamed to admit the plan was to get drunk, no trashed. As much as I had come to enjoy my life at Hogwarts, I needed to unwind a little. I couldn't scream at my students, or threaten them very effectively. I couldn't even do that privately.

However, first I wanted to get ready. Julia and Cynthia came with me to help. I chose a pair of tight muggle jeans, with a pair of black, spiked heeled boots that came almost to my knees. I looked through my collection of "clubbing" muggle tops. After finally deciding on a one shoulder red top with Grecian pleating, I was pleased with how I was showing myself off for the night.

"Who are you trying to impress?" Cynthia asked, watching as I rummaged through my jewelry. This conversation would go best if I didn't participate in it.

"Seth," Julia responded. "She probably realizes that she really loves him after being a part for so long."

I held up a black ring with and with four, red jewel imbedded in it. Placed in on the hand that was opposite of the sleeve.

Cynthia shook her head at Julia. "No, the reason that Seth likes Lexie is because she was always one of the guys. He wants a girl who will play hockey with him, not someone who dresses in ridiculous heeled boots."

Finally untangling my earrings, I decided on a dangling pair that ended in red jewels similar to the ones on my ring.

"But there is no one else from the team that she has ever bee interested in…" Julia said, before realizing who I was trying to impress.

I grabbed my leather jacket so that I could meet the boys in the kitchen. Julia and Cynthia rushed to intercept me.

"What is going on between you and Severus?" Cynthia asked as we walked down the stairs.

I gave her a look that said nothing.

Julia caught my arm. "But you want something to happen."

My look said maybe.

"Is he on board with this plan?" Cynthia asked. "Because if he isn't, this will be a repeat of Hogwarts all over again. Remember how many time you cried because he liked Lily and not you?"

I had forgotten that Cynthia had known about my crush on Severus as a kid. I had also forgotten about Severus' childhood crush on Lilly Potter. I looked back at my cousin, trying to give her a reassuring smile.

Severus was sitting quietly at my kitchen table. He was dressed in the jeans that Nick had gotten him and a black collared shirt. The sleeves were affective at hiding the dark mark that I knew was there.

The man who I had been admiring for years looked up at me. I couldn't read what his eyes were trying to say. His mouth moved, but no words came out. I thanked the gods for makeup, for I knew I was blushing.

Nick looked up from the counter. He had been cutting limes for the tequila shots. "Knew I wasn't the only one going crazy at Hogwarts."

Everyone chuckled as we gathered around the counter. There were six shots of tequila, six lime wedges, and the salt shaker all ready for us.

"Now this goes salt, shot, lime," Nick explained.

"I'm not so sure about this," Severus said. He looked at me in a funny way as I licked his hand so that I could apply the salt.

Greg laughed. "Lick the salt off you hand, then take the shot. The lime is for the after taste.

Severus looked less sure, but he took the shot with us. By the time we made it to the bar, we were all in our happy little tipsy phase, Severus more so than the rest of us.

"For some reason, I though you would be able to hold your liquor better," Greg told Severus, one arm wrapped around the dark man's neck.

Severus clung to me, he had wrapped an arm around me since between the liquor and the heels, I wasn't very stable. "I've never had tequila before."

"Better than fire whisky?" Greg asked.

"Not even close to it."

"There's are good luck charm!" Seth cried from over by the pool tables. He swooped in and picked me up easily. He hugged me tightly before setting me down on my unsure feet again before turning to Severus. "I'm Seth, nice to meet you."

Seth dragged Severus and I to play pool with him and a player named Glen. Thanks to Nick's connection to the bar, the alcohol flowed freely between us all. The night grew shorter, as the room got hotter, as we all became forgetful. Severus rolled up his sleeves.

"What is that?" Cynthia asked, pointing to Severus' arm.

He was leaned over the pool table, arm stretch out to hit the ball. Though I knew they both were far from it, Cynthia and Severus looked like they were dead sober. I gripped his arm in support.

Greg saw the mark as well. He grabbed Severus by the collar, and hauled him out of the bar. Nick followed closely, with Cynthia, Julia, and I following out quickly. Seth and Glen followed too. The Oblivian charm might have to happen after all.

Pushing Severus away from us and the bar, Greg shouted. "Get out of here!"

I tried to launch myself to go help Severus, but Cynthia and Julia both grabbed my arms, keeping me close to them. Seth and Glen rushed to hold back Greg.

"Come on mate," Seth hissed. "If you get caught, your off the team. That fight last week on the ice is still being talked about in the news."

"You, I should have known you would have joined….joined…joined that gang!" Greg yelled. Nick looked like he was going to spit fire.

For the sake that we don't spill any dark wizarding secrets, lets call the Dark Lord and his death eaters a gang.

Glen pushed Greg back, and Seth held my cousin back easily. The hockey player walked over to Severus and examined the dark mark on his wrist. Then, Glen rolled up his sleeve so that he could show us all some very racist tattoos.

"I joined before I even finished high school," Glen said. "I did a lot stuff I'm not proud of. At night I pray that my victims lived. At some point, I stepped back and asked how I got to that place. All I could come up with was that I was young, I had no self-esteem, and I thought I had no place to turn to. Most of my tattoos I had removed, but I keep these to remind me where I have been."

Severus looked up at Glen, as if he had spoken something that Severus could not say. I pushed my cousins off to me and rushed to Severus. Between Glen and myself we got Severus back on his feet.

"Get away from him, Lexie," Nick ordered.

I wrapped my arms around Severus. I had chosen my place to make a stand.

"Lexie…" Cynthia began.

"How about you all bloody shut up," Seth yelled, from where he still restrained Greg. "If you haven't noticed, she isn't surprised. So she already knew about this. And she is obviously okay with this."

"I don't think she is thinking straight," Nick growled.

Glen sneered. "How about you give her a little more credit than that. Lexie is a strong girl."

Around that time, it clicked in my head it was time to leave. I dragged Severus away from the bar and away from my screaming cousins. We walked until I figured it was a safe distance to hail for a cab. I wrote down the address of my father's house, and sat quietly with Severus until we got there.

A silent charm opened the door and I dragged Severus in.

"I should probably go back to Hogwarts," Severus muttered, as he had several times since leaving the bar. I knew I probably wasn't helping, as I wasn't responding to him in any form.

"What is going on down there," my father asked from the top of the stairs.

I looked up at him pleadingly, begging him not to make me explain right now.

"Your room has sheets and stuff," my father told me. "I would appreciate it if you two just slept, nothing else. I know you're an adult, but I'm still your father."

We watched from the bottom as my father disappeared back into his room. Then I sat down and wrestled my boots off.

"Should I go back to Hogwarts?" Severus asked me.

I shook my head as I stood up. I flexed my feet to get some feeling in them again.

"Is there a guest room?" Severus asked.

Again I shook my head.

"Then I should be on the couch," Severus concluded.

I smiled, and took his hand and led him up the stairs. Once in my room, I found something to sleep in and changed in my walk in closet. After that I slipped into my father's room to grab something for Severus to wear.

He was looking at some pictures that I had hanging on my wall. He examined the muggle guitar that was sitting in the corner. I had let him in farther then anyone has ever gotten before.

Severus changed into the pajama pants and t-shirt I had gotten him. When he was done I led him over to my bed. Between the alcohol, the fight, and the not knowing, we fell to sleep quickly.

It was the best I had ever slept.


	9. Meet the Family

AN: So I have been updating rather quickly….which is unusual. I'll try to keep it as often as possible. Thanks for those of you who have been following me!

Disclaimer: Just a reminder, I take no ownership of any Harry Potter Characters.

A Thunderous Silence

Chapter 9

Meet the Family

As I slowly woke up, I heard yelling from down the stairs, but how I had left my cousins last night, the yelling didn't surprise me. I felt the arms around my body tighten, and I decided to slip back into sleep. Severus played with the ends of my hair. I could tell that he was in this half state of sleep as well.

Then I realized who the voices belong to, and shot out of bed and out of my room.

At the foot of the stairs stood my mother and father arguing.

"You can't keep ignoring this!" my mother yelled at my father.

My father rubbed at his temples. "She is an adult, she can make this decision for herself. Talk to Lexie."

"Incase you haven't noticed," my mother accused, "Alexis hasn't talked to me since I left to return to my family."

"And whose fault is that?" my father shot back.

Severus came out of my room, still in his sleepwear. He looked at my parents arguing, and looked back up at me. "Is that your mom?"

I nodded.

"Alexis, not exactly how I wanted to see you after all these years," my mother said as she looked up at Severus and me. "Who's the man?"

My father looked up at us. He didn't know who this strange man was either.

"My name is Severus Snape," Severus told my parents, "I'm the potions master at Hogwarts."

"I like him already," my dad said.

"You're both impure, of course you like him," my mother growled.

Severus looked confused, and turned to me for explanation. I ran back into my room, and found an old hockey puck. My mother ducked my throw with practiced ease.

"I can understand you Alexis," my mother said as she turned towards that door. "I expect you to be at my home this summer. I expect to hear your voice as well."

Just like that, my mother left. One would think I had gotten used to her leaving without good-byes, but I never did.

"Well that was exciting," my father said with every ounce of sarcasm in his body. He turned to Severus and I. "How about you two get dressed and then come down for some tea?"

I ran back into my room, with Severus following.

"Lexie?" Severus asked as I riffled through the clothing I left at my father's house.

My body shook as I pulled an old t-shirt out to put on. I was trying desperately not to cry, he didn't need to see me like this.

"Lexie, what did she want?" Severus asked. I could hear in his voice that I was unnerving him. I hadn't made huge attempts to communicate with him since we had left the bar last night.

Suddenly, I was pulled into Severus's arms. He held me tightly, smoothing down my hair with one hand. Then I cried. My cousins not taking the time to recognize how much this man meant to me, my mother's intrusion into my life again, it all came crashing down.

And he held me, and let my tears subside.

When I had collected myself, I quickly changed into a black t-shirt and my jeans. Severus borrowed a long sleeve shirt from my father and wore the pair of jeans Nick had bought.

My father was waiting for us at the kitchen table. He had three mugs of tea, with honey, sugar, and milk out on the table. Severus and I both sat down.

"Now when the two of you stumbled in drunk, I didn't think to much of it," my father began. "However, when four of my nieces and nephews call up accusing you of being a Death Eater, I take that very seriously. What do the two of you have for an explanation?"

Severus turned to me before turning back to my father. "I was a Death Eater, a long time ago."

"If seriously pushed, Lucius Malfoy would say something similar," my father retorted.

"I hurt a lot of people when I became a Death Eater, more so myself," Severus responded. "After graduating Hogwarts, I literally had nothing. I thought he was my only option."

I flicked my eyes between my father and Severus. Many of my friends had told me about how the first meeting between significant other and parents had gone for them. However, this had to hold the record for most awkward.

My father glared down Severus. "So answer me this, were you in the group who attacked my daughter?"

"Yes."

Even I was shocked by how easily Severus admitted that.

The glare intensified. "Did you curse or hex my daughter in anyway?"

"No."

My father looked to me for confirmation. I smiled and nodded my head.

"I'll help with the damage control, but from the sounds of it some of your friends will be helping. It's not like you are the first person in the family to date outside the norm," my father said to me as he got up from the table to pour himself some more tea.

Severus turned to me. "Now what was that interaction between your mother and you?"

I pinched the bridge of my nose, and looked up at my father for help to tell the story.

"Mona, Lexie's mother, comes from a very old, and very powerful family. They live within their own sub community within our world. Technically, Lexie should have gone and studied under their techniques, but I wanted her to attend Hogwarts," my father explained.

"She called us impure," Severus whispered.

My father sighed, and looked to me for support. "Mona and her family believe that all magic has different levels of purity. To them, potions is an impure magic, we use them because we cannot call on our pure magic. Magic, to them, comes from a source of wisdom and experience that every witch and wizard has ever had. They focus their magic through that source, and it becomes all the more powerful. The purer the magic the stronger the witch or wizard."

"So why haven't they joined up with the Dark Lord?" Severus asked.

"They aren't taking sides in this war," my father responded. "They feel like You Know Who is beneath them."

I grabbed the pad of paper on the table and wrote, "There is a difference between pure blood and pure magic. My mother would probably consider Hermione Granger to have purer magic than Draco Malfoy."

Severus turned to me, stunned, just as the doorbell rang. I grabbed the hockey puck, expecting it to be my mother, and went to go answer the door. I opened the door quickly and raised my hand; ready to hurl the puck at who's ever head was closest.

"Is this how you normally answer the door, Lexie?" Seth asked.

He and Glen had brought my cousins to my father's house. Both Greg and Nick sprouted fresh bruises on their faces, I could already imagine the lecture that Nick would be getting from McGonagall.

Glen pushed Nick forward. "He has something to say to you."

"I'm sorry," Nick said scuffing his feet. "I over reacted. It's just that you think you know somebody and then…."

"We're all sorry," Cynthia stated.

Seth punched Nick in the shoulder, as signal that he had more to say. Nick sighed. "I'm sorry that we've been trying to baby you, I don't think any of us have ever got over what happened to you."

I smiled and threw my arms around Nick and Cynthia. Julia came up and hugged me from behind. Maybe my family wasn't ready for me to date a Death Eater, even a former one, but we would get there.

"We have one more person to apologize to," Glen announced, dragging Greg behind him. I showed them into the kitchen where Severus was waiting, my father having left us to solve the problem by ourselves.

Greg and Severus silently stared each other down. Severus sat back in his chair, even though his hair was a mess and he was wearing muggle clothing, Severus Snape was an intimidating man. He sat back in his chair, back straight, and hands folded. He looked like he was ready to pounce, but had made the decision not to make the first move.

My cousin was being held back by his teammate. Greg was head strong, and a right hook to back him up. He was always the type to attack first and ask questions later. Though he had grown, Greg had never lost that schoolboy charm, and the bruises on his face only added to it.

"I'm sorry, about being such a prick," Greg mumbled. Glen nudged him. Greg gritted his teeth, but continued all the same. "I don't have a right to judge you because I don't know why you chose that path."

"No you don't," Severus responded.

They continued to glare each other down, before some silent truce was made. A handshake sealed the deal. Despite my years of silence, I couldn't understand what had been said between the two men, but it seemed enough for Glen, Seth, and Nick.

"Men," Julia muttered. Cynthia nodded in agreement.


	10. Little Moments

AN: I wanted to do something like this, something that was sweet. I might expand on the chapter for a more mature audience later.

A Thunderous Silence

Chapter 10

Little Moments

The rest of the weekend passed by without incident. Whatever truce Severus and Greg had made held. I was thankful for that, since I was the one who ended up trying to use a Glamour spell on the bruises on Nick's face before we had to return to Hogwarts.

The three of us made it in time for Sunday dinner. I noticed many of the students were giving us odd looks as we walked between the tables.

"Welcome back!" McGonagall cried happily as we approached the staff table. I think she missed having the extra sets of hands around the castle.

Nick gave McGonagall a strained smile. "Good to be back."

I could clearly hear the effort that Nick was making to have his voice sound civil towards the woman. This was the last place that he wanted to be.

Dinner was relatively calm that night. None of the houses caused any real trouble and we left the Great Hall without too much effort on our parts as teachers.

As we left the Great Hall, Severus grabbed my hand and led me away from Nick and my rooms. I think he wanted some time alone, since we hadn't gotten much that weekend. After Greg and Severus had made up, we were always with my family and friends. I followed Severus, before waving good-bye to my cousin, who looked a little lost as we left him.

"You promised you'd tell me," Nick reminded me.

Severus led us to his rooms. "So what did you promise you would tell Nick?"

I pointed to him, and then I pointed to myself.

"He wants to know what we are? We don't even know that," Severus said as he sank down into one of the armchairs. I sat down gently on top of his lap. He wrapped his arms around my body. It was at that moment I wondered what dating Severus would have been like during our school years.

He seemed so willing to be close to me, to pull me in nearer. I wondered how much more open he was before he had received the Dark Mark.

"What are you doing?" he laughed, as I turned to straddle his legs.

My fingers worked on the first few buttons of his high collared shirt. He stilled them.

"This is not why I asked you here," Severus said quietly.

I sat back and looked at the man. My eyebrow rose, before looking down at myself.

"No, I find you very beautiful, it's just that, I would rather know what we are before we take this any farther," Severus stumbled over his words.

Ever since my return to Hogwarts, his voice has always been so silky smooth. Even as he stumbled over his words, his voice gave me goose bumps. I couldn't resist taking my hands back to undo another button. I leaned down and began to kiss down his jaw line and to his neck.

I had never heard him gasp that way until now.

His hands combed through my golden brown hair, tangling ever so slightly into the locks of hair.

"Dear god Lexie, please stop before I do something I regret," Severus begged.

I moved back, or as far back as his hands would let me go. He seemed happy, pleased, and confused at the same time. He pulled me in for a gentle kiss.

"I would love it you stayed here for the night," Severus whispered against my lips.

My fingers reached once more, wanting to only undo one more button…


	11. Warning Signs

AN: I hope you enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: I claim no rights over any of the Harry Potter characters. I do however claim rights over my own and this story.

A Thunderous Silence

Chapter 11

Warning Signs

Monday morning began our routines again. Nick and I met our fellow teachers at the table for breakfast. While my cousin looked well rested, I felt far from it. During the night Severus had been woken three times. Once by McGonagall who was dragging a third year behind her by the ear, once by a first year who had a sudden bout of homesickness, and once by the Slytherin Perfect who reported a commotion going on in the Slytherin Common room.

I had a new found respect for those who were heads of houses.

Before I could face McGonagall to see if she had discovered that I had been with Severus last night, the flock of owls swooped into the Great Hall. Most of the teachers received the Daily Prophet each morning, to keep up with what was going on within our world. Dumbledore would always receive several letters while most of the other teachers would receive one or two.

Today, Nick received an owl from a friend in Spain. He smiled as he untied the letter from its foot and gave it some food. He laughed while reading the message and then turned to the bird. "If you wait up in the owlry, I'll send a reply with you tonight. You can rest and eat there."

The owl hooted and then rose up into the air. No sooner had it left then a great horned owl flew head long into me. It rose up once more and landed on the back of my chair. The bird wiggled its leg at me expectantly, demanding I remove the letter.

I took the letter and opened it up, while the bird helped itself to my breakfast.

_Dear Alexis_

I hate when people call me that, I thought to myself.

_Mona has informed me that you chased her out of your father's house with a muggle torture device. While I believe the woman is exaggerating, I can picture you throwing something at her. If you are to do it again, at least let me be there._

I smiled for I knew there would be many more opportunities to throw things at my mother's head.

_However, the reason for her visit still stands. You need to return to our family so that you can be trained and to purify your magic._

I rolled my eyes. I was beginning to dislike the word pure.

_While I understand you are teaching, which I am happy to hear you are doing something, we would like you home as soon as possible. Perhaps the winter break?_

I rolled my eyes, there was no way I was spending any of my breaks with that part of my family.

_If you do not respond to me, I will be forced to visit you at Hogwarts. I'm curious to see if you really do have a room full of toilets._

I bit my lip, I wouldn't but it past him to come and get me.

_Please listen to us Alexis, the seers have been seeing several disturbing things. I doubt you want to relive the Unforgivables again._

_Love Your Cousin,_

_Samuel_

I turned the letter over, and penned a quick "thanks, but no thanks" response. Those looking into the future have been wrong before, and I was banking on the idea that they were wrong this time.

The owl accepted my response, and took flight once more. It had left me little in the ways of what used to be my breakfast.

"That was quick," Severus said, from where he read the Daily Prophet.

"Samuel?" Nick asked.

I nodded.

Nick sighed. "Please tell me you gave him something of a response, because he will show up to the castle."

"Who is Samuel?" Severus asked.

I took out a piece of parchment and wrote, "A cousin from my mother's side."

Just then the first set of bells rang, signaling to everyone that class was to start shortly. In the back of my head I groaned. Severus didn't let too much of his emotions show, but a simple twitch in his eye suggested his dislike of mornings. Nick gave away more of his emotions, but it was drowned out by the student's collective groan.

Nick and I walked to our classroom together. Then at the last minute, Nick realized he had forgotten something, suspiciously, and ran back to our rooms to go get it. I entered the classroom and began to write on the board for our fifth year Gryffindor and Slytherin class.

They were already squabbling amongst themselves. I managed to figure out it had something to do with Potter and his friends setting up Draco to get in trouble. It was Monday and they were already beginning to give me a headache.

"I should hex you into next week!" Draco yelled.

What Malfoy should do is hex himself into a class where he would learn the difference between mute and deaf.

Harry snarled. "Try it Malfoy."

I waved my hand, and I heard cries of surprise, as I knew the spell had sent their wands flying out of their hands.

"What a shame too," Nick said. I turned to see him in the doorway, holding Harry's and Draco's wands. He must have caught them on his way in. "Today is a practical day, I guess this isn't going to be a good day for your houses point wise."

I nodded my head towards the time turners in the back of the classroom as both Slytherin and Gryffindor lost fifty points apiece. Then I turned to look at Nick, we both nodded as he walked up to the front of the classroom.

"We have also decided that you two will both be serving detention," Nick said as we both stood in front of the classroom. He placed a glass ball on top of our desks. I'm glad he had remembered it for today, because I had forgotten.

Class went by fast; the students would take turns trying to perform a very complicated hex towards the glass ball. It was designed to receive the hexes without harming itself or anyone around it.

The students however had terrible aim, and Nick and I were ready to block anything that could harm anyone.

Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy sat quietly in their seats. At the end of class, they approached Nick and I, holding out their hands for their wands.

Nick and I turned to one another and nodded in agreement.

"You'll get them after your detention tonight," Nick told them.

"My father will…" Draco said.

"I have charms…." Harry said at the same time.

My fist made contact with the desk, which easily silenced the arguing boys. I folded my arms and stared down at them, my face set in a cold mask. It was a face that I usually reserved for the most idiotic things that Greg and other hockey players could possible think of doing. It always got the message across.

Both boys hung their heads and exited the room. We watched them leave and I magiced the door closed behind them.

Nick turned to me. "So what should we have them do during detention?"

I looked around the room, my eyes resting on the bookcase that Nick and I had yet to organize.

"I like this plan," Nick said with a nod.

The day past by quickly, since we were letting all of our classes practice the new spells they had learned. Thankfully, we only had one mishap. One of the sixth year Ravenclaw girls had been hit by a particular nasty spell. I escorted her, along with several of the Ravenclaw girls, to the hospital wing. Then I ushered the crying girls back to the Great Hall for dinner, silently convincing them that their friend would be fine in Poppy's capable hands.

"Thanks for taking care of that," Nick whispered to me. Crying girls had never been his thing.

Snape sat down next to me while McGonagall sat down on Nick's other side. The Heads of Houses were not pleased.

"Why did Potter not have his wand?" McGonagall demanded.

Snape looked at me coldly. "Malfoy didn't have his either. I heard a great deal about it."

"We took them away so we didn't have to send smoldering ashes to the hospital wing," Nick said with a wave of his hand. "Besides, both of them could do with a short lesson in humility."

McGonagall made a slight noise in the back of her throat, and I couldn't tell if it was approval or disgust.

"They'll get their wands back tonight after they serve detention," Nick promised.

That seemed to be enough for McGonagall, as she left the subject alone. She, however, was not done with us. "So how did Nick get those bruises? And when did you get so horrible at Glamour charms Alexis?"

Dinner concluded, and the three of us had managed to feed McGonagall a fake story about our weekend. It explained the bruises without mentioning our almost slip up around muggles or the fight that Severus' dark mark had caused.

As we got ready to leave the Head Table, Severus whispered in my ear, "After you are done with the detention, meet me in my rooms."

I nodded, before heading back to my classroom with Nick. Potter and Malfoy had met us there. They were glaring at each other, each blaming the other for being wandless.

"You will be organizing those books," Nick said. "We want them organized by author and then the titles should alphabetical."

The two boys got to work, silently for the most part. Occasionally we heard them arguing over the exact order of the books. Sometimes the foreign name of an author messed them up. Nick ignored them as he corrected some scrolls from the second years while I worked on the scrolls from the seventh years.

"This looks like a ball, may I join?" a male voice said from the doorway.

I looked up to see a tall man with a golden brown hair pulled back by a black clasp. He was clean-shaven, and the dress robes he wore were impeccable. They were more than impeccable, the silver buttons could have glimmered without the help of candlelight and the black matched that of a moonless sky. His shoes were polished to perfection and stood in a way that held command over a room. My cousin Samuel, if nothing else, looked amazing.

"Hello Alexis," Samuel said with a smile, "I told you I would come to visit. Now please answer me this, is there truly a room full of toilets?"


	12. The Honorable House of Nobody

AN: I don't know what to say here, besides enjoy! Just got you Gossamer Silver Wed.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, but please be respectful of my characters and story.

A Thunderous Silence

Chapter 12

The Honorable House of Nobody

Samuel walked into the room. Harry and Draco were openly gawking at the older man, it wasn't often a complete stranger strolled into the castle. And very few wizards wore dress robes on a daily basis. Nick and I scowled as a member of my other family walked into the room.

"I told you I would come," Samuel said as he walked into the room.

Nick turned to me. "You said you had given him a response."

I glared down Samuel; I had given him a response.

"Thanks, but no thanks is not the response I needed to hear," Samuel told me. "You need to come home with me."

"Who are you?" Draco demanded.

"Me? I'm Samuel of the Honorable House of Nobody," my cousin replied.

"The Honorable House of…Nobody?" Harry asked.

Samuel slid across the desks to come to a stop in front of the two young wizards. "Who are you two?"

"Harry Potter."

My cousin reached up and stroked the scar that the young boy tried to hide by his bangs. "Love."

"Excuse me?" Harry asked.

Samuel turned to the blonde wizard. "Who are you?"

"Draco Malfoy."

The well-dressed man stared down at Draco. The two looked into each other's eyes for a long time. Finally, Samuel found what he was looking for and sat back. "History."

"What are you talking about?" Draco demanded.

"Magic," Samuel said simply. "Pure and raw magic, magic when you are using magic without even realizing it, comes from a very deep place inside of you. Usually comes from an emotion or an idea. Take a look at Nicolas, or is it Professor Fairweather, his magic comes from his sense of adventure. The minute the man can roam free, his magic becomes stronger, purer."

"The purer the blood, the purer the magic," Malfoy retorted.

Samuel held up his hand and pricked his finger so that he could show the red blood that flowed down his finger and into the gold ring that Samuel wore. "Last time I checked, everyone bleeds red."

My fist made contact with my desk. All three of them turned to me, looking slightly scared. I pushed the two wands I had been holding since this morning towards the young wizards.

They both grabbed their wands, and went back to their organizing. I had expected them to grab their wands and run, but they were too curious about the stranger that was currently wrapping the self made wound in a handkerchief. Immediate panic set in. Potter was sure to tell his friends, and they would search into the Honorable House of Nobody. There wasn't much to find, but it was still there. They would learn of a family that only meddled when they saw fit.

While that would be annoying to explain to the trio, I was more worried about Draco. Who knew who the boy would take that information too. Severus had some clue about my family, though I had hoped to avoid telling him exactly who they were. Draco's father would try to find away to make a contact out of me. I didn't even want to think abut how the Dark Lord would use me if he were to find out.

Nick cleared his throat. He had seen my panic and had thankfully stepped up to help. "You two need to leave."

"But we aren't done," Harry said.

Draco nodded.

At least we knew they could get along while it suited them.

"I'm very glad that the two of you feel the need to live up to such high expectations," Nick praised, smiling evilly. "Let's go to talk to Professor Sprouts, she was telling me this afternoon that she could use some help in the greenhouse."

Nick wrapped arms around both boys' shoulders and proceeded to lead them out of my classroom.

"Wait," Draco said, before turning back towards Samuel and I. "Where does Professor Lexington get her magic from?"

I frowned and glared at the boys. They could read me loud and clear. Both unconsciously maneuvered themselves behind Nick, hoping he would protect them if I decided to hex them.

"I though that would be obvious, it comes from her silence," Samuel answered.

After that, Nick rushed the two boys out of the room and towards one of the greenhouses. My hand made contact with the back of Samuel's head before I returned to my grading.

"That was unkind," Samuel pouted at me.

I kept my eyes on the seventh years' papers.

"Now don't be like that," Samuel said as he sat down on the edge of my desk. "I told you I would come, and now here I am."

I leaned back in my chair and glared at him. The essence of my magic curled around me, desperately wanting to lash out at the man.

"Now in all honesty, you need to come home soon," Samuel told me point blankly.

My fingers drummed on the table, as the word "No" wrote itself in the air above my head. My mother had never told me where my "pure magic" originated from, and I didn't appreciate being told it came from my silence.

Samuel shook his head. "Our seers have seen things that scare even them. They say that no matter what vision comes, you always fall at the hands of the Unforgivables. At times it results in your death."

I felt the fingers of my hand begin to twitch. I didn't know if they were going to go for my wand or go for a punch. Samuel was a part of that family that had never bothered to even owl me when I was at St. Mungos all those years ago. And now they were worried about me.

"Don't give me that look," Samuel accused me. "You wouldn't have written back even if I had owled you. You quite literally threw Mona out of your room. We took that as a sign that we weren't welcome."

I sat back in anger, knowing that is was the truth. Taking several deep breaths, I tried to calm my magic, which was threatening to lose control.

"Just think about it, please Alexis?" Samuel said as he placed a small ring box on the desk in front of me. "This is from your Grandfather. Try not to hurt the old man, he has grown tender and sentimental in his old age."

Samuel strolled out of the room. I knew he would leave Hogwarts without anyone else realizing he was even in the castle.

I opened the black velvet box and stared down at the ring inside.

How does one describe silence? Perhaps, something that is cold, dark, and unwelcoming. Or maybe something that is soothing and relaxing. Others would describe it lonesome while other would describe it as necessary. To me, it was how I lived my life from day to day.

The ring was styled in the shape of a four pointed star. It was inlaid with small diamond like crystals. Around the edges of the star were decorative swirls inlaid with black crystals. It reminded me of silence, a shining beacon in the chaos of noise.

I placed the ring on the ring finger of my right hand and it immediately sized itself to fit. I stared at it for a moment before taking it off and putting the piece of jewelry back into its box. The box fit comfortably in the pocket of my robes. I gathered up the seventh years' essays I had been working on into a neat pile on the corner of my desk. I left my classroom and headed straight for the dungeons.

I wondered if I should tell Severus about my family.


	13. Unwanted Surprises

AN: I'm updating! Yay for me! Sorry, updates will become less regular since school has been in session for the past four weeks. Enjoy the chapter

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, but please be respectful of my characters and story

A Thunderous Silence

Chapter 13

Unwanted Surprises

I strolled through Hogsmead, in between Nick and Severus. It was hard to tell which man hated these weekend chaperoning trips more. Severus would have rather been holed up with one of his books or a difficult potion to brew. Though I knew I was replacing those leisurely activities. Nick would have rather been traveling; the itch to get moving was hitting him hard. Winter break could not come fast enough.

Samuel, thankfully, had not returned Hogwarts since his visit a couple of weeks ago. The Trio of Gryffindors had yet to approach me with questions about the Honorable House of Nobody. Neither Lucius Malfoy nor the You Know Who had attempted to use me as a contact to my family. Severus had yet to demand that I explain myself.

I had also not worn the ring since the night I first received it.

The students, thrilled to be out of the castle and away from responsibilities wandered the town almost aimlessly. Some, less so then others.

"Mr. Renolds, that's twenty points from Hufflepuff, and twenty from Ravenclaw as well Miss Phillips," Severus snapped as he stormed after two snogging sixth years.

Nick nudged me. "He's that teacher."

I could only smile and nodded. The man had become assertive over the years, and it became all the harder not to fall for him.

From down a beaten path, I heard the Weasley twin's laugher. I shook my head and followed the sound, to ensure the town would still be there for next weekend's trip.

The two red head young men were talking to twin brunette sisters. The four seemed to have been talking in some sort of secret code, as I could barely keep up with the conversation.

The sisters looked identical, from their fine bone structure to their petite frames. One sister wore her hair long and up in a ponytail while the other wore it short and curly around her face. Both had red robes on, though the sister with the ponytail had let her robes slide slightly off her shoulders, giving a small glimpse of the pale skin underneath. It seemed a little chilly for that trick though.

As I approached the small group, I couldn't help to feel like I had seen the sisters before. I knew that I knew them from somewhere.

And then it hit me. They were members of the Honorable House of Nobody.

I tapped the Weasley twins on the shoulders. They turned around to face me and both smiled. "Hello Professor Lexington."

"Hello," the brunette twins greeted me.

They looked into my eyes and I switched in between theirs. I was trying desperately to figure out where they drew their magic from. After mere seconds I saw recognition in their eyes, they had already concluded where my magic drew its power from.

I glared down at the Weasley twins and gestured towards the main town where they were supposed to stay.

"Sorry Professor," George said sheepishly, "we met them, and we were just sort of wandering."

Fred nodded. "Promise, we are not going to blow up the town."

I rolled my eyes and gestured towards Three Broomsticks. The twins nodded in understanding and gestured for the girls to follow.

"We'll be along in a minute," the girl with the shorter hair said.

Her sister nodded. "We just need to tell our cousin what is going on. Get us a table."

Fred and George left us, thankfully. I turned to the pair of twins that was still left. The looks in their eyes reminded me of the ones that James Potter and Sirius Black would have in their eyes, right before their prank exploded in the victim's face.

"Do you remember us?" the twin with the long hair asked.

I shook my head no, answering truthfully.

"I'm Elizabeth," the twin with the short hair replied. She then nodded towards her sister with the long pulled back hair. "That is Elise."

Elizabeth and Elise of the Honorable House of Nobody.

"We are here to spy on you and to bring you home with us…" Elise told me honestly.

Elizabeth bit her lip and turned to me. "However, we just met those boys, and we would like to get to know them…"

I stared at the two, a little shocked by what I saw. They couldn't be any older than my seventh years at Hogwarts, and all ready they were sent to spy on someone who was supposed to be in their family. They were two girls, who probably had never had the chance to think about boys…

And here they were, with their slight puppy dog eyes, asking me for permission to run off and be teenagers.

With a shake of my head, I gestured towards the Three Broomsticks. The twins smiled, and took off running. As they looked back at me, they gave me small smiles. I had a feeling they wouldn't cause too much trouble for me.

I walked back towards the central part of town, where Severus and Nick were talking. The two men turned to me as I approached them.

"So what were the Weasley Twins cooking up?" Nick asked me.

I smiled slyly, my eyes traveling to the Three Broomsticks.

"They have a date?" Nick laughed. "And you helped them secure it?"

"Who?" Severus asked.

I shrugged.

"Which house?" Nick pressured.

I shook my head and gestured to the town surrounding us.

"They're locals who don't go to Hogwarts?" Severus asked. "I didn't think that was possible. Let's investigate."

"Sev, if you want to be that Professor, go ahead, but leave me out of it," Nick responded.

The two went back to arguing, about whether being that professor or not was beneficial. I shook my head as I walked away from them. Deciding to see how the two sets of twins were doing, I wandered into Three Broomsticks.

I passed the Golden Trio along the way. They were quietly talking, but stopped as I passed. Hermione had a large book in her hand, while I couldn't read the title, I could see it was trimmed in decorative gold foil.

So they had begun to investigate the Honorable House of Nobody.

The Three Broomsticks was indeed busy, but I found a small table easily enough. I could see the two sets of twins.

Elizabeth was sitting next to George, they had leaned in close and were talking excitedly between themselves. No matter how close they got to one another, Elizabeth made sure that they didn't touch.

Elise was a different story. Fred had already wrapped an arm around the longhaired girl's shoulder. They sat casually, leaning on each other. They were also talking, though I know Elise was being a tease and trying to temp the Weasley boy into a kiss.

I stared at the two girls who were members of the Honorable House of Nobody. I tried desperately to find where they're magic came from.

A waitress broke my concentration by placing a drink in front of me, and asking what I would like to eat.

I placed my order and sat back to keep an eye on my students, like I was supposed to be doing. I stopped three fights from happening and broke up one between two Ravenclaws. I gave out two detentions and subtracted a handful of house points.

Severus and Nick joined me, having come to the agreement of some sort that I wasn't let in on. The waitress returned to take their orders as I went to go intervene between a third year from Slytherin and a fourth year from Gryffindor.

The fight had been over a boy from Huflepuff.

"Impressive," Severus said as I rejoined the men, "you did that all without talking."

"Lexie has skills, probably from working with Greg and his brain dead teammates all the time," Nick snickered.

My eyes narrowed, and I looked straight at Nick. He stopped laughing.

"Don't give me that look, Lexie," Nick grumbled.

Severus glanced at me and smiled. "And what is that look?"

"She doesn't like what I'm saying," Nick grumbled. "So I either need to shut up or she'll make me shut up."

"I take it the students have also received that look?" Severus asked.

I smiled and cocked my head to one side. My students knew that look all to well.

As the time in Hogsmead ended: Severus, Nick, and I went to go round up the students from the various shops and restaurants. Some were harder than others to coax back, mainly the Weasley twins who were not ready to leave Elizabeth and Elise. Some all but flew back to the castle, mainly the Golden Trio.

Nick noticed Potter and his friends' eagerness to return, and caught my arm. "You need to talk to them about the Honorable House of Nobody. They really shouldn't be investigating that secret, or it could cause some trouble.

I nodded in agreement. I would catch them after my class with them on Monday.

As we followed the last of the students into Hogwarts, the three of us slowly made our way to the teacher's lounge. Dumbledore held a weekly staff meeting there so that we were all on the same page, whatever page that was. For the most part the meetings didn't take long and if you missed one here or there, there was no consequence.

"And finally to wrap things up, as always everyone is required to attend the Ministry of Magic's annual Yule party," Dumbledore told my fellow teachers and myself.

One could almost feel the communal groan being silently suppressed.

Severus sighed heavily, as if he knew that this event was unavoidable. His hand came up and his eyes, almost in a tired fashion. "This again."

I gently nudged him and fluttered my eyelashes.

"Of course we can go together," was Severus' reply. I hoped we managed to have this conversation without attracting too much attention.

Nick raised his hand. "What if we don't want to go?"

"Most of us don't want to go, Nicholas" Professor Sprout muttered.

To his credit, Dumbledore seemed to notice the dislike among the teachers. He smiled and nodded in agreement. The man liked this less than we did. He nodded towards the group of teachers and left the room.

"Nicholas," McGonagall said with a smile. She ignored Severus and me. "I should introduce you to my niece. She is a very lovely young woman and you two would get along very well."

"We need a date?" Nick groaned.

"Of course," McGonagall replied.

Nick looked over at me and smiled. "I can get my own date, no worries."

He strode over to the fireplace and took a pinch of floo powder. Then he turned to me and nodded in apology. My eyes widen, trying to figure out whom he was going to invite. Belle from Paris? Crystal from L. A.? Mami from Tokyo?

"La Casa del Guerrero Enojado," Nick said clearly and without hesitation.

So he was asking Amada, the young Spanish woman who had written him recently.

"Hola!" a sweet voice said, rising from the fireplace.

Nick conversed with Amada for a short time in Spanish so that the rest of us gave up trying to listen in. They said their good-byes, and the floo fire died down.

"Thank you Professor McGonagall, but I seem to already have a date for the Ministry's Yule Ball."

Later that night, Severus and I were grading papers in his personal rooms. Every once in a while he would sneer at the scroll he was grading before angrily writing on it. It was slightly comical to watch.

I had the first years' scrolls in my hands. I was more or less looking over the papers to se what things needed to be reviewed before the end of term. My first years were doing quite well this year.

The entire night I waited for the knock on the door. I waited for Samuel to strode in and goad Severus into a fight. I waited for the twins Elise and Elizabeth to barge in, torn between telling me about their dates or to trail me like they were supposed to. I waited for Mona to walk in, talking about purity of magic. I waited for some other member of the Honorable House of Nobody to track me down. I waited for Nick to knock, looking for me out of sheer boredom.

Finally, Severus rose from his desk and walked over to me. He held out his hand, and I took it with a smile. The nights I stayed with Severus always made me smile.

Thank Merlin for small miracles that no one from my crazy families had tried to track me down.

Hao'sAnjul: I have a clear concept in my head of what their concept in magic is, the trick is explaining it to you. But I'm glad you are enjoying it.


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